Hey everyone, I own a 308 VL Calais. I dont know what I should do with it engine wise to give it a bit more beef. Shes pretty healthy at the moment (just clicked over 100k ). Just had some new suspension put in to make her handle a little bit better and my friend who I bought it off had extractors fitted just before he sold it. I just want something that will hold its own on the street, car would do around a flat 16 atm. I want to do the following cam and head job vlt lsd stage 3 shift, stall conv rest of the exhaust (got extractors) and a small shot of nos (meant to be able to take 150 but id keep it at 100hp) That would keep me happy for a while, whats everyone think? I was thinking of an Rb25 conversion but after reading a few threads I dont think I have the money to do that. I plan to do these mods over the year because I dont have a lot of money atm. Anyone know what sought of power/times that combo would get me? Please dont flame me because its not turbo Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

stuff the conversion man just keep ur 308 and work it

man get a decent exhaust straight up. a decent cam and manifold with the right carb will have a decent gain aswell. i hold off on the heads for a bit becuase to do it properly is costly. if ya wanna rip the heads off think bout a set of L34 spec valves even. a stock 308 aint gonna handle 150 shot of nitrous. even if it does it wont be for long. roller rockers are good but for the price they wont provide a huge gain. more for valvetrain reliability

if i were you i would get the exhaust, diff and gear box sorted out first when you have saved up enough money get the engine rebuilt speak to a couple of work shops because they will be able to give you prices and recomend what will be the best and most cost effective way to give you the outcome you want. also NOS im not sure if it is the same as the rest of australia but here in W.A if you have your engine kitted with a nos kit even if you dont have a full nos bottle in your car and if you get caught with it then the car is taken off the road and you can be done for a hefty fine. just a word of warning Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Hey guys, what heads would you recommend? Ive been told V8 VN heads flow pretty well (500hpish) and theyre efi. And is the stock 308 manifold ****e? If its a definite to be replaced then Ill need to budget that in. Im not looking for a mega bucks performance V8. Just something with a strong driveline, reliable and got some decent power, and nitrous. In the NT you are allowed to drive on the street with a nitrous kit but just without the bottle hooked up. The cars almost back on the road (just waiting on parts before the work starts). And then Ill get an exhaust put on straight away.

you need to convert to efi if you haven't already, get urself one of those fantastic twin throttle manifolds and you'll be laughin, then you'll get bored with it and do a bunch of other crazy stuff, lol, but it's a gr8 start!

hey stable, tell us what u want to do with your car realistically , i.e. work car or driven once a week toy. how much power do u want? there r a few of us on this site that can point you in the right direction, and..... there r others that think a 4" straight thru exhaust will automatically make u big power!

What I think Id be happy with is low 13's high 12's really. To me thats the perfect street car. Dont know in power figures but that would prolly mean around 350hp atw? Really I want, a mean sounding, reliable-ish type of car that I can drive everyday, I know fuel economy doesnt exist when you have power and Im not really worrying about it. I want a decent sized shot of nos so the car is generally more streetable and easier to drive around car parks etc, but when I want to open it up I can really open it up.

and I dont necessarily want to have a 12 second car instantly. I want to build it up over time because I dont have a lot of money atm. What exhaust should I get? I was thining a pacemaker 2 1/4 dual system. I really want the dual system so i can have a pipe coming down either side of the rear..

hey stable, if u have the cash, start with a 355 stroker crank, ( i use crankshaft rebuilders or harrop b/c they're lighter than c.o.m.e.), ACL duralite 'D' bowl pistons, 9.4:1 comp, premium ulp only, Wade 1147c cam, this cam has 0.521" lift and 110 lobe separation, its a shag over the title 'streetable cam' but ur asking for low 13s, so ur choice!! i use crane valve gear, if ur not gonna thrash it on a track i would keep the standard rockers arms. i have used these on 380hp 'street use' engines without any probs. if u can, get a genuine VL GR. A inlet manifold, cause they have all the emmision stuff. they r still around. if not your next choice would be 2 use VN-on heads and a harrop manifold. No emmisions though! if ur sneaky u can dup up the harrop 2 look emission freindly. use a properly set up rochester carb which will easily make that power, extractors (ur choice), a 2 1/4 twin cat system, i use standard vt v6 supercharged cats, they flow good, similar to big buck items and u can get them s/h from exhaust shops, and a x-over pipe behind the trans. use a 3000rpm stall, and 3.9 diff gears. i built this motor for a mate, it made 359 hp, and it ran 13.4 on slicks. u want more power then ur gonna sacrifice streetability. choice is yours. hope this gets u started

Thanks alot bigtoe. First priority is the exhaust and gearbox and diff. Should I go for an LSD or a locker? I cant imagine trying to park with a locked diff or mini spool would be anything close to practical...

stick with the lsd, lockers on streeters in the wet understeer like a *******

Haha ok will do, and what about the nitrous setup? I see adds for like 700bucks but I didnt think Id find anything and have it set up and tuned for less than 2000. Sound about right?

best thing u can do for the motor is convert it to injection, will run 10x better, pick up about 40-50kw and be more fuel efficient.

Its best to do it in one go, not bit by bit. Im doing a 372 stroker in mine and if i knew what i know now, i wouldnt have spent money on an exhaust system and all the rest when i had the standard motor......i would of saved a couple of grand easy. And with the nos, if you are goin to use it, build the motor to suit. With the price you mentioned, where i work, we sell basic kits (NOS)for around $650, but it isnt street legal. Oznos though is street legal. Just sign up for an account with BOC and thats how you get your bottle. The bottle is recognised as legal, as its just like a bbq bottle, and the Oznos kit has a disarming device, which NOS doesnt have, so that too makes it legal. Its best to write down on paper what your really after with the car and of course see if you have the funds to do it.

Yeah I see what you guys are saying. But I was looking at upgrading things now that are non engine related that I shouldnt have to upgrade again later, things like brakes, diff, box. Im not really interested in stroking the engine. I know a stroker crank is only around $1000 but everyones doing it now. Id rather just have a nice, strong healthy 5L. Once you start stroking it you jump up a level and need to start to worry about other stuff. Anyone know what sought of gains and times Id get just from doing the basic things I was dribblin about earlier? LSD, Exhaust, Shift kit and stall?

With the right diff ratio, exhaust and tuning of the qjet, u should be able to crack the 14s quite easily. And for a street car, that still is pretty quick.

do ur diff first with the right ratio, convert to efi, then zorst, tranny, ur gonna hav 2 take da head off atleast to make it nos ready, i think all you'de need to do is drop the comp ratio a little 2 make it safe for a small nos kit

Quote: Originally Posted by JuZi do ur diff first with the right ratio, convert to efi, then zorst, tranny, ur gonna hav 2 take da head off atleast to make it nos ready, i think all you'de need to do is drop the comp ratio a little 2 make it safe for a small nos kit There actully isnt any need to go efi, alot of ppl underestimate what the rochester is capable of. With the right tuning they are a top carby. Ppl have the misconception that efi gives a higher power output. In actual fact, they give better driveability and as for power output in NA cars is concerned, more power can be made with a carby than injection.....take Pro Stock cars as an example Bolt ons to a VL V8 such as: quality 1 5/8 Tri-Ys, dual 2 /1/2 pipes into 3inch exhaust over diff (dual pipes cant be done past the diff as fuel tank is in the way), 2500 stally, 3.5 diff ratio and tuned qjet......should really make the car move. When i first bought my car, all i did was put a full exhuast on it and tuned the carby and i was keeping with a manual VT SS until he started pulling away in fourth, which isnt too bad considering the slight mods i did. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

ELA-RE - 14's would be sweet Ive already got the extractors on there. Ill try and find out what size they are. Do you guys think a smallish nos kit would be safe on a stock engine? Would 3.5's be ok with the trimatic? What top speed would that get me? I remember racing a VT SS, dont know if it was manual or auto but he had a full car and I kept with him. Wasnt really a clean run though.